Belt-stretching device.



G. A. CLENDENNING. BELT STBETUHING DEVICE.

I APPLIOATIOH FILED IAY24,1909.

980,490. Patented Jan. 3,1911.

Tn: rvoRms PETERS 0a.. WASHINGTON. 0.1:.

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GEORGE A. CLENDENNING, 0F MULBERRY, INDIANA.

IBELT-STRETCHING DEVICE.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

Application filed May 24, 1909. Serial No. 497,913.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. CLENDEN- NING, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Mulberry, in the county of Clinton and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBelt-Stretching Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to stretching appliances and has particularreference to de vices applicable to the stretching of belts tofacilitate the operation of lacing or splicing their ends together.

The chief objects of the improvements which constitute the subjectmatter of this application are z-to provide a simple and efficientapparatus for gripping the ends of a belt, and to supply tractionmechanism, having a relatively powerful leverage, that will permit ofproperly stretching belts of large size with the expenditure of acomparatively small amount of muscular force.

Other objects of the invention, stated in detail, are :to provide anovel take-up mechanism that can be quickly and easily manipulated; tofurnish convenient and rapid means for applying and removing thecooperating belt clamping members, and to form the jaw engaging faces ofa material that will afford an adequate amount of friction withoutinjury to the substance composing the belt.

Further objects of this invention are to produce a belt clamping andstretching contrivanoe that can be manufactured economically, themachine being designed as to con struction and material so that a largeproportion of the parts may be formed by the ordinary process ofstamping; to furnish a device having adequate strength and durability,so arranged mechanically as to avoid a heavy construction thus renderingthe device easily handled and producing a practical clamping andstretching appliance that can be applied to belts of the largest sizeand efficiently operated by a single person.

I accomplish the desired results, by em ploying the apparatusillustrated in the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of thisapplication, the important details of construction being disclosed inthe several views designated as follows Figure 1 is a side elevation ofmy improved belt stretching device; Fig. 2 is a top plan View; Fig. 3 isan end elevation, with a portion of the clamping blocks broken away toshow the bolt slots; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Fig.1; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, showing the eccentric andmanner of mounting, and Fig. 6 is a top plan View of the eccentric andstrap.

Referring to the details of the drawing, the numeral 10 indicates a flatconnecting or take-up beam upon which are mounted a pair of clampingmembers 11, 12. These members are similarly constructed each consistingof cooperating clamping blocks or jaws 13, 14, arranged one above theother transversely to the take-up beam or bar 10. The upper blocks 13are suspended from the said beam by yokes 15, 15, formed of flat bars orstrips bent to embrace the takeup beam, and having its ends bent atright angles to form attaching flanges 16, which lie flat upon the uppersurfaces of the blocks 13 and are secured thereto by bolts or rivets 17The under jaws or blocks 14 are supported by bolts 18, having theirupper ends turned to form eyes 19, which engage holes 20 in the marginsof the flanges 16. The bolts thus hingedly connected to the yoke thenpass through the said jaws or blocks 13, 14, and are provided withwasher-nuts 21. One end of each block 13 is furnished with a diagonalslot 22 which the corresponding eye-bolt traverses, and each end of thelower block 14 has a marginal notch 23 for the passage of the bolt. Thepurpose of these slots and notches is to permit one bolt in eachclamping member to be inclined outwardly in its slot and notch when thenuts 21 are loosened, so that the lower block 14 can be readily detachedwithout removing the nuts 21 en tirely from the bolts. I prefer to makethe said blocks 13, 14, of wood since this material will have a greaterholding power when in frictional contact with the belt to be stretched,besides being lighter and cheaper to manufacture than if made of metaland will be less likely to score the face of the belt than if made ofmetal. In order to render the lower members 14 more durable, since theyare engaged by the washer nuts 21 and therefore subject to greater wearthan the cooperating upper members 13, I protect them upon three faceswith a comparatively thin metallic shell, or casing 24. The rear yoke 15is fixed on the connecting or take-up beam 10 by rivets 25, while thefront yoke 15 is loosely mount- 7 ed so that it may be adjusted bysliding it along the supporting-beam. H

The yoke 15 with its suspended clamping member, is moved upon the bar orbeam 10 by means of an eccentric 26,--

mounted upon a hanger or bracket 27, which slides upon the bar 10. Thesaid slidable bracket 27 is composed of flanged plates 28, 29, nested asshown in Figs. 1 and4, so that they embrace the beam and have theirflanges 30 in apposition. A pivot pin 31 passes through said flanges andprojects below the bracket or hanger passing through an operating lever32 near its forward end, the eccentric 2G, and a supporting plate 33,the extremity of said pin 31 being then upset or headed to retain theplate 33. This pivot pin 31 is fixed in the traveling bracket 27, andthe other structures through which it passes arranged to turn thereon,although the reverse arrangement may be employed, the pivot beingloosely mounted in the bracket. The forward end of the said lever 32 isattached to the eccentric 26 and supporting plate 33 by means of a rivet34, and a washer 35 is interposed between the lower flanges 30 of thebracket and said lever. The eccentric '26 is surrounded by a ring orstrap 36, prothe under side, and the end 42 of the lever the draw bar 40for that purpose.

32 extends upon the ring or strap assisting to retain the strap andeccentric in operative relation. The bar or beam 10 is furnished withtwo longitudinal rows of spaced holes 43, arranged in staggered relationin the opposite rows, to give a finer adjustment. These holes serve forthe insertion of locking or retaining pins 44, 44, which form adjustablestops to limit the movements of the sliding yoke 15 and the travelingbracket 27, when operated in the manner hereinafter described. As thesepins are removable and liable to become mislaid or lost, I prefer tosecure each pin to some portion of the'machine by means of a chain orcord 45, one of said cords being conveniently fastened to the rivet pin31, and the other to an eye 46 formed in the end of To prevent themovable members from becoming dislodged from the beam I provide a stop47, which engages one of the holes 43 near the end of the beam.

The operation of the appliance is as follows :-If the belt to bestretched has its ends already connected, the lower jaws or blocks 14are removed by loosening the nuts and-inclining the bolts which are inthe placed with the upper blocks 13 resting upon the belt at the desiredpoint, so that the belt lies between the bolts 18. The lower blocks 14are then replaced and the nuts 21 tightened by means of an ordinarywrench, thus clamping the belt firmly in two places. The operating lever32 being in the position shown in the drawings a stop pin 44 is theninserted in one of the holes 43 in proximity to the right hand edge ofthe bracket 27 as indicated at a to form a fulcrum. The operator thenmoves the eccentric by swinging the lever 32 over toward the right, andas the slidable bracket is fixed by the said stop pin 44, this movementof the eccentric will slide the yoke 15 toward the said bracket,stretching the clamped belt to a corresponding degree. The pin 44 isthen inserted in one of the holes to the right of the slide yoke 15", asclose to the margin of the yoke as possible, thus furnishing a stop forthe said yoke, and permitting the lever 32 to be swung back to itsinitial position without losing the amount taken up by the levermovement. Carrying the lever back to its starting point will, of course,cause the bracket to travel toward the fixed yoke to an extent equal tothe throw of the cocentric, where it is retained by moving the pin 44 tothe proper hole. This step by step movement of the slides is continueduntil the belt is stretched to the required degree. To remove the devicewhile the belt is at maximum tension it is only necessary 1. I11 a beltstretching device, the combination with a supporting beam having a fixedand a movable clampin member mounted thereon, of a bracket lidable onsaid beam, a pin supported in said bracket, an eccentric pivoted on saidpin, an eccentric strap operatively connected to said movable clampingmember, a lever pivoted on said pin and fixed on said eccentric, andmeans for locking the bracket and movable clamping member when adjusted.

2. In a belt stretching device, the combination with a supporting beamprovided with a series of spaced holes, of a mod and a movable clampingmember mounted upon said beam, each of said clamping members comprisinga yoke embracing said beam, a fixed clamping block supported upon saidyoke transversely to said beam, a removable clamping block arrangedbelow said fixed block, slots in the ends of said removable block, eyebolts supporting said removable block, said bolts arranged in saidslots, and having their upper ends passing through the said fixed blocksand hingedly connected to the said yoke.

3. In a belt stretching device, the combination with a supporting beamprovided with a series of spaced holes, of a fixed and a movableclamping member mounted upon said beam, each of said clamping memberscomprising a yoke suspended on the beam, an upper clamping block fixedon said yoke below the beam, bolts hingedly connected to the yoke andpassing through the said block, one of said bolts being adapted to swinglaterally upon its hinge, a removable clamping block, and slots in theends of the said removable block to receive said bolts, and means forsliding said movable clamping member upon the beam.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE A. OLENDENNING.

